#artificial evolution

Artificial Evolution

Context- Southbound is an **artificial** speculative evolution project centering primarily around the speculative biology and evolution of machines, often with a focus on aircraft. Unless specifically stated otherwise, instalments take place somewhere on the surface of the tidally-locked planet, Xoturanseria (Anser).``

Specific Context-

It's a rather calm day in Neahkahnie, Hatzegonia.

A Neahkahnie Gyrfalcon, known locally as Beikaalkeit, holds an Orwell's Creaking Ornithopter in its right talon, making good use of the hallux. It clings to a briskethistle in a standoff against a Giant Gyrfalcon, who likely is hungry and wants to harass the Neahkahnie Gyrfalcon out of its meal. Meanwhile, funnelfalcons and Helical Lowriders soar on the warm drafts above.

The Neahkahnie Gyrfalcon (Tahji rubedo imperator) is a small avion found almost entirely in the region of Neahkahnie. They are occasionally spotted as far south as Hyperion, but rarely as far north as Inner Cell. They generally prefer temperate climates where they have plenty of intertwining briskethistle to hunt small ornithopters within. Because of their small size, they are often preyed on by larger fighters such as basking owls and Giant Gyrfalcons.

The Giant Gyrfalcon (Tahji rubedo electrum) is closer in size to Gyrfalcons on the mainland than its relative on Hatzegonia. Easily identified by the flash of iridescent yellow and turquoise on the nose, Giant Gyrfalcons tend to prefer fishing as opposed to actively hunting terrestrial or aerial prey. However, they will steal prey from others occasionally. They fish using the copper teeth in the lower jaw, essentially electrofishing in a manner not too dissimilar to the F-117N Seahawks of Echelon.

Great Grasscutter Post

He has a big face.

The only thing keeping Great Grasscutters(Cruorcaeves incarnaticircumdatos)is their feigning point.

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The feigning point of Great Grasscutters is around 5 years. It's essentially their midlife point in many cases.

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The feigning point of a fallow is the point in which nanomachine programming dealing with growth is overrided. Further replication *of* nantites no longer outweighs degradation. Basically, it's the point in which fallows stop growing past their pre-programmed size restraints.

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It's the reason you'll never see too

big of a Grasscutter. :)

This is your typical, overly generalized Great Grasscutter life cycle. Could use a minor revision, but it works for what it is.

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Let's go through it, shall we?

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Anyways the stages more in depth, going off of a healthy individual with no development complications;

•Days 1-3 of development; Nanomachine puddle sets up a system for "hunting" outside the burrow. Optical array begins forming, as do the central cortex and basal cortexes in the main body.

•Days 4-6: coherent optical array is now visible, formation of eyes and beak begins. Sentience has been achieved by day 5 as the completion of the central cortex and basal cortex nears. Stationary anchoring prongs are formed to keep the Grasslet in a single position as it develops.

•Days 7-15; mass skin growth tends to occur around here, not much else.

•Days 16-19; mobile prong and slight bone development begins.

•Days 20-25; entirely dedicated to bone growth by this point, stationary prongs anchoring to the wings and neck also make an appearance around here.

•Days 26-30; Formation of all major systems is complete, energy is stored for emergence. The anchoring prongs are broken, detached and assimilated.

•Day 31; Emergence from burrow, first flight is achieved. The bastard Grasslet will likely return to its burrow over the next week or so before finding a territory to call its own, and possibly repeating the process of reproduction far in the future.

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People in Navabataar, and sometimes other continents sometimes carry growing Grasslets around in jars and such to watch them grow. Could honestly imagine them being marketed as a Sea Monkey-esque scenario in some places.

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It is unclear when exactly sapience is achieved in the life of a Great Grasscutter,it most likely happens sometime during the "enlightenment period" thought to be experienced by bastard Grasscutters during their first year or so of life.

Recruitment posters for Kegong's military often feature Grasscutters in their propaganda and on their seals and awards.

Great Grasscutters often have a high density of basal chromium in their skeletal anatomy, leading to much corporate exploitation in the way of chromium straining- a process in which chromium is stripped from the bones of an (often still living) Grasscutter to be sold to mega corperations back on Earth for millions. These Grasscutters rarely survive more than a few days after being strained.

Basal chromium is renown for its uniquely light but fascinatingly sturdy structural integrity, often being used in composite architecture. Its unique antiferromagnetic properties also make for an interesting tool in classrooms when studying magnetism.

The hydraulic prongs (not seen below) hold the lose skeleton together, as well as providing further strength to the anatomy of the bird, are numerous and come in two varieties; mobile prongs, used in movement, and stationary/structural prongs, used for added support.

^Grasscutter skeleton w/o discriminatory coloration.

^Grasscutter skeleton featuring discriminatory coloration to differentiate between different anatomical features.

Red- central cortex

Blue- basal cortex

Greyscale- primary skeleton

Fun facts!

•-Great Grasscutters reproduce asexually and are born as nothing more than puddles of nanomachines that will proceed to replicate to form a coherent body over the course of 31 days.

•-The Great Grasscutter is Kegong's national bird.

•-Great Grasscutters get up to 6' long! Their wingspan typically matches that length, if not slightly surpassing it. They also typically weigh roughly 15 pounds (in AVAn gravity).

•-In some circles, the Great Grasscutter is called the White-browed Grasscutter

•-Great Grasscutters are endemic to Navabataar's gore forests, though a Niloan relative in the same genus does exist! The Niloan, or Titan Grasscutter.

They very much enjoy diets primarily consisting of Goregrass.

version HD en español: https://www.deviantart.com/aidenleblohic/art/Pagina-17-Espaol-782801877

version en HD español: https://www.deviantart.com/aidenleblohic/art/Pagina-18-Espaol-782802576

Version en HD español: https://www.deviantart.com/aidenleblohic/art/Pagina-16-Espaol-782800767

version HD en español: https://www.deviantart.com/aidenleblohic/art/Pagina-19-Espaol-784196909

Version HD español: https://www.deviantart.com/aidenleblohic/art/Pagina-15-Espaol-782800089